‘Lesbian porn. Anything girl on girl’: young women’s understandings of their engagement with lesbian porn

ABSTRACT

Literature on women’s engagement and experiences as consumers of porn shows an increasing recognition that women are aroused by porn. The research reported here observed and analyzed young women’s discussions around online porn on three English-language internet forums. By drawing on qualitative methodology, the understandings of young women on their experiences with lesbian porn are reported. In their discussions about lesbian porn, hetero-identifying young women are critically engaging with ideas of authenticity, respect, desire, and fluid sexuality. Many of the women in this research enjoyed lesbian porn, with some reporting desire towards female performers, and others perceiving better treatment of female performers in lesbian porn, which heightened their pleasure. This article contributes further insight into the nexus of young women, the internet, and porn, and explores the implications of women’s attitudes towards their consumption of lesbian porn.

KEYWORDS:

• Porn
• women
• identity
• pleasure
• performativity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.